... " 3 Sri Aurobindo, The Human Cycle (1962), p. 115. 4 5 Ibid., p. 114. Page 34 (b) The Scientific Physical Culture and the Perfection of the Body The call for a well-planned and universal physical culture for all age-groups of men and women is one of the dominant traits of the cultural value-system of modern man. The benefits that have... his gross utilitarian practicality." 6 Leaving aside this Charvaka-Philistine attitude to body and bodily life we now proceed to the consideration of the scientifically controlled physical culture of the bodily system, so much prevalent in our day. 1 "Na hi ajīrṇa-bhayāt āhara-parityāgo, yūka-bhayād vā prāvaraṇa-pari-tyāgaḥ . " 2 "Yāvaj jīvet sukhaṁ jīvet, ṛnaṁ... Another happy result is "the formation of a capacity for harmonious and right movements of the body." 1 (ii) Mental and moral perfection: A systematic undertaking of a disciplined physical culture is apt to develop certain parts of the mind and contribute to the building up of character. Many forms of sports and competitive games help to form and even necessitate the essential qualities ...
... Education Department office Page 79 A visitor has come from Brazil. He is tall, healthy and well- built. You can see at once that he is into physical culture. He was greatly impressed by the ultra-modern equipment for physical culture. 'I have been to several countries,' he observed, 'but rarely have I seen such a fantastic gymnasium run so systematically. I liked the two "malkhambs"... religious path is what they prefer. Perhaps man is not yet fully ready to understand and follow the spiritual path beyond the religious.' * 'In 1945,' Dada said, 'I set up the physical culture groups with some very simple equipment, a set of parallel-bars and a pair of "dun-kath" (dipping bars) which are still there in the Playground. It was our first demonstration in the Playground... you need." So through Biren-da, I got from Madras a vaulting-box, a vaulting-horse, wall-pulley machines, a punching ball and punching-board, and so on. And with these I started organising physical culture in a more satisfactory manner. From then on the Mother used to come to the Playground from time to time. She would also play table-tennis in 'Nanteuil'. When the tennis court was ready ...
... Gora, Ranju and I, stayed at the Chettiar House. I do not know how Purani-ji found out that I was interested in physical culture and had been involved in organising physical culture associations. One fine morning he turned up there while I was alone. We talked about physical culture and when he found out that I liked wrestling he got down to a bout at once. Nirmal-da had a garden in the open... I Remember He was known as the "Father of physical culture" in Gujarat. He also taught English and Dyuman-bhai was one of his students. He was an accomplished writer. His Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo in English is an invaluable book. Towards the end of his life he went to England to do some research on Sri Aurobindo's life as a student, all the houses he lived ...
... another human being. * Page 15 A husband and wife, both teachers, came to meet Dada with their son. He met them and handed them a new-year calendar and a book about physical culture. He asked the little boy what class he was in. 'In class eight,' he answered. "So you must be about thirteen or fourteen?" 'He is fourteen,' the father replied. "Do you... doesn't go without an operation and the body refuses to get well if it is present. So I would tell myself that if my tonsils were to be removed through an operation I'd be able to take up physical culture and become healthy. And so I started play-acting, pretending that I was suffering from great pain because of my tonsils. I kept saying my throat is paining. I can't eat. It is very painful.... so that the body would retain its immunity. I was to have one more check-up after a week. After a week Dr Pathak said I was fine and there was nothing to worry. 'Now you can take up physical culture. Your body will now be healthy.' And that's what happened. I started regular exercises and I was fine." As soon as this couple left with their son another family arrived. When Dada ...
... Seal and his assistant Biren Chunder. But his real Physical Education started when he joined Biren Chunder's club. The Ballygunge School of Physical Culture at the age of fifteen. He had his real training here in various activities and in addition to physical culture he learnt here under Biren Chunder's guidance the supporting spirit, the spirit of sacrifice and self-negation for a higher cause, and... patriotic life. He also got from this institution the idea that there was a great possibility of building a great India, in every way, through sports and physical culture. In the first year of his college studies in Berhampur founded a physical culture club called Vivekananda Byayam Samiti, with the idea of building up the younger generation for a higher life. It was successful from the very start... in the town. They would all run independently but keep in touch with one another and extend help when needed. This had the advantage that many more people could take up physical culture and this would give a boost to physical culture itself. And so several clubs opened: in Gorabazar under Kamaksya's guidance, in Barrack under Pankaj's guidance, in Lower Kadai under Tarit, in Babupara under ...
... that, to create a general harmony in his body—he succeeds. Therefore, in the conscious will, there is something which adds considerably to the movement itself. Those who really want to practise physical culture as it is conceived now, everything they do, they do consciously. They walk downstairs consciously, they make the movements of ordinary life consciously, not mechanically. An attentive eye will... muscle should Page 155 work. You will see, you will obtain really amazing results. Going up and down the stairs—you cannot imagine how useful that can be from the point of view of physical culture, if you know how to make use of it. Instead of going up because you are going up and coming down because you are coming down, like any ordinary man, you go up with the consciousness of all the... something right at the top of a cupboard, you open a door, you close it, you have to go round an obstacle, there are a hundred and one things you do constantly and which you can make use of for your physical culture and which will demonstrate to you that it is the consciousness you put into it which produces the effect, a hundred times more than just the material fact of doing it. So, you choose the method ...
... perfection of the body, as great a perfection as we can bring about by the means at our disposal, must be the ultimate aim of physical culture. Perfection is the true aim of all culture, the spiritual and psychic, the mental, the vital and it must be the aim of our physical culture also. If our seeking is for a total perfection of the being, the physical part of it cannot be left aside; for the body is... of the mind, the life, the character which it houses as, no less than an awakening and development of the body's own native capacities, a desirable outcome of the exercises and practices of the physical culture to which we have commenced to give in this Ashram a special attention and scope. A development of the physical consciousness must always be a considerable part of our aim, but for that the right ...
... upon earth." It's almost a proclamation. There. So we'll put it into French. They will say it after their demonstration; it appears they are going to show the whole evolution of physical culture, and then, at the end, they will say, "We have not reached the end, we are at the beginning of something, and here is our prayer." I was very glad. You say there is a progress? A progress... see, they've asked for a prayer of the BODY. They have come to understand that the body must begin to transform itself into something else. Previously, they were all full of the whole history of physical culture in every country, in which country it's most developed, the use of the body as it is, and ... and so on. Anyway, it was the Olympic ideal. Now, they have leaped beyond: that is the past, now they... × Every year on December 2, all the children of the School and all the disciples taking part in sports carry out a general demonstration of physical culture. × The turning point of March 16, 1962, culminating on April 13, 1962 : the great pulsations ...
... only solo performances, but combined movements of many persons in perfect balance, a unified cadence and orchestral pattern. Fifthly, and the point deserves particular mention, in the sphere of physical culture (as in other spheres too) the Russians make no difference between men and women. They believe that men and women can and ought to do the same exercises together, that it is pure superstition,... is due to compulsion, it is not a healthy or a natural condition of our being. It is indeed painful, and what men really wish for is to come out of it – into a world of natural freedom. The new physical culture that the Russians are now following is meant to open up the hidden resources of the body. This they are doing with the help of knowledge, practice and endless, eager experiment. Rooted in the... enough for the soul afterwards. First this world, then the rest." "Why not a little division of labour?" I told the group. "You keep to your social reform or revolution, if you please; your physical culture and your secular pursuits. Spare us from these. Why not leave us to go ahead with another kind of aim and work? After all, we do not mind your doing what you like to do. It is only fair that you ...
... Vishwabharati, with a long teaching experience, and Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya from Calcutta, an expert in physical culture, came and were given charge of the two wings of education, mental and physical. Particularly in young Pranab, the Mother found an excellent instrument for physical culture and with his help she quickly built up the centre of physical education. I don't need to discuss the place... become almost our normal dress. To cut short the story, thanks to her long and sustained labour, these two institutions have gained today their well-deserved recognition abroad; particularly the physical culture. On the occasion of the April Darshan in 1949, the members of this organisation called J.S.A.S.A. 7 were given the privilege of a march past in their group uniforms before the Master and the ...
... higher light. It is good to utilise the qualities Page 34 we have in order to increase and make more exact the control of physical activities. It is very obvious that those who practise physical culture scientifically and with coordination acquire a control over their bodies that's unimaginable for ordinary people." Udita said, "Some time ago, the Russian gymnasts came here, the Mother talked... did you do?" "Our aim was to establish as many centres of training as possible, first in Calcutta, then later in the district towns and even in the villages. These centres were not only for physical culture and body-building, but were also meant to train young men to swim, to ride and to handle weapons. Ostensibly, that was all that was done there, but the real purpose was to select a few fit young... and became widespread." "Didn't the British authorities guess what was happening?" "No! Not at all! On the contrary, they were quite pleased that the young Indians were so preoccupied with physical culture, instead of politics. Only much later, when the bombs began to explode, did their eyes open!" "The government was convinced that you were the leader of this secret society. Barinda too has ...
... identical with physical culture or the system of Asanas and Pranayama, a perfection of physical culture is a part of the total perfection that is achieved by the Integral Yoga. The perfection of the body is primarily a question of the application of consciousness and powers of consciousness on the functions of the body. Given this basic assumption, the different systems of physical culture, eastern... to obey its governance. The emphasis on the development of strength, suppleness, calm, quiet, poise, grace and beauty in physical education, whether done by Yogic Asanas or by other methods of physical culture, such as games and sports, or Japanese Judo and similar exercises, will ensure the contact of the body with the psychic centre and the body will learn to put forth at every minute the effort that... eastern or western, can be found to be useful aids. Kundalini's awakening which is supposed to be the result of the Indian system of Asanas, can also be achieved by the systems of western physical culture, including games and sports. In India, physical education has been neglected almost completely and this neglect is one of the causes of the low morale of the people. It is, therefore, necessary to bring ...
... of physical culture. Of course, that is not the only thing that brings consciousness into the body, but it is something which acts in an overall way, and this is rare. I have already told you several times that the artist infuses a very great consciousness into his hands, as the intellectual does into his brain. But these are, as it were, local phenomena, whereas the action of physical culture is more... greatly facilitated. I do not say that people who practise physical culture necessarily do it for this purpose, because very few are aware of this result. But whether they are aware of it or not, this is the result. Moreover, if you are at all sensitive, when you observe the moving body of a person who has practised physical culture in a methodical and rational way, you see a light, a consciousness... the experience it has come for. So, if we cultivate the body by a clear-sighted and rational method, at the same time we are helping the growth of the soul, its progress and enlightenment. Physical culture is the process of infusing consciousness into the cells of the body. One may or may not know it, but it is a fact. When we concentrate to make our muscles move according to our will, when we endeavour ...
... Shantiniketan, a seasoned academic head, she likewise found Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya a dedicated exponent of physical culture; and there was Pavitra to give purpose and shape and proper direction to the School. While the academic courses were organised on efficient lines, physical culture received equal importance. As Nirod saw it, the daily regimen of physical education "served the most important... or so". 10 Without such canalisation of their energies the children may have gone astray, all the more so because of the large freedom they enjoyed in their Ashram life. Studies, group life, physical culture, the ambience of the elected Presence, the psychic opening stimulated by the Ashram environment, all helped the promotion of a gymnastic fused in the harmony of the Spirit, the flowering of a... that shorts have become almost our normal dress. 16 The Mother certainly didn't subscribe to the philosophy of education that asked for different types of education and different kinds of physical culture for boys and girls, even as she firmly discountenanced the only too common tendency of women to overemphasise their femineity and men their masculinity. For the Mother, as for Sri Aurobindo, men ...
... how much more can be acquired through spiritual tapasya!" Shyamakanto was dumbfounded. He gave up all physical culture and became the sadhu's disciple, a sannyasi. When Mother heard this story she exclaimed: "What a shame! If instead, Shyamakanto had combined both physical culture and spiritual tapasya how much better it would have been!" So I asked Mother: "Mother, who can be truly... years of age I was at the Anandamayi school and then for two years at the Jagatbandhu. I passed my matriculation examination from this institute. Also since then, I've taken to regular physical culture and my life changed as a result. Page 101 (79) L et me tell you an amusing story from my childhood. We were living then on Ekdalia Road in Ballygunje. I was thirteen... to enter the cage, wrestle with the beast and come out only after he had won. Shyamakanto had built up a circus troupe in order to inspire the youth of the country to take up physical culture. One day this remarkable man was sitting in front of his tent when a thin and weak-looking sadhu came and stood before him. The sadhu said: "You're terribly strong, aren't you? You can ...
... the Mother have put great stress on physical culture. Here are their words: The Perfection of the body, as great a perfection as we can bring about by the means at our disposal, must be the ultimate aim of physical culture. Perfection is the true aim of all culture, the spiritual and psychic, the mental, the vital, and it must be the aim of our physical culture also. Sri Aurobindo, Essays in... in Philosophy and Yoga: Perfection of the Body Physical culture is the best way of developing the consciousness of the body, and the more the body is conscious, the more it is capable of receiving the divine forces that are at work to transform it and give birth to the new race. The Mother, On Education: General Messages and Letters The physical consciousness and physical being, the ...
... purposes. Once the body is in good health, it needs to be made strong and given fitness and capacity. To this end we have recourse to special exercises known as gymnastics. The third stage of physical culture consists in making the body able and efficient; this may be described as the utilisation of the body's strength and capacity. This is where calisthenics or agility exercises come in, with their... within this category. Page 280 All this is known to us all. But what I have in view is something different, something a little deeper. It concerns another phase or aspect of physical culture. What I mean is that the body must not only be healthy, strong and efficient, it must also become conscious. Ordinarily, our bodily functionings and movements take place mostly without our knowledge... limbs the movement of consciousness and vibrations of light, what the scientist Page 281 would describe as "energising" the body – this is the real aim, the true utility of physical culture and exercises. But one need not stop with this; it is necessary to rise another step. The body must not only become conscious, it must become rightly conscious. My consciousness, the one that ...
... delight into the body. While doing physical exercise one must keep this in mind. One must consciously feel this peace and delight in the body while taking part in physical culture. This is the great difference between physical culture elsewhere and here. One must exercise with this feeling of Sachchidananda in every part of our body. It is no use to exercise in a mechanical way without turning... any committee of the school. For admission to the school, the registrar, Manoj Dasgupta, has a council of twelve advisers. It is they who decide about admissions. I am responsible only for physical culture: dand (push-throughs), baithak (squats), wrestling, marching, body building, etc. I have absolutely no role to play in admissions.' In order not to disappoint the gentleman, Dada recited... 'Usha has always led a very pure, sattwic, ashram life. She would never eat anything from outside. She has led a very orderly, clean life. There was no irregularity anywhere. When I started the physical culture activities after forming the Page 49 groups, Usha was one of the girls of the first batch. She then became a captain. Among the many women-captains, Usha was one of them. ...
... throw the shot-put. What a scene that was! Later Bohart met the Mother and told Her: "I had a wonderful discussion with Pranab the other day about physical culture. I told him that the French were not as advanced in physical culture as they were in literature or sculpture and that we needed to do something about it."' Dada told us this story the other day: 'There was a gentleman... son is coming why does she require a knife? Later I understood that she needed the fish knife as she wanted to cook fish for him.' * 'Once I felt like knowing all about physical culture in France,' Dada told us one day. 'Pondicherry was under French rate then. Captain Bohart was the commandant in Pondicherry. I fixed an appointment Page 119 with him so that... that I could discuss this. I informed the Mother about it and taking an interpreter with me went to meet him. Bohart was himself an athlete and was deeply interested in physical culture. I was informed that he was in hospital. In those times the French would go into hospital to rest for the slightest problem. They would come back home after five-six days. So Bohart told me to come and ...
... discussed. But if everyone outside is talking about it, we also have to talk about it here. This is why we do physical culture. In this way the energies are used to develop strength, beauty, skill and all that; and one is more capable of control. You will see, those who do a lot of physical culture are much more capable of controlling their impulses. ( After meditation ) The energies that human beings... that the children would lose a great deal if you stopped teaching them. Continue, and you will see that soon you will begin to enjoy it again. Love and blessings. 16 June 1971 * * * Physical culture is the best way of developing the consciousness of the body, and the more the body is conscious, the more it is capable of receiving the divine forces that are at work to transform it and give... on. Exercises should be given according to capacity and the children should be grouped according to these capacities. It is a matter of experience and observation. To be a good teacher of physical culture one must know anatomy, the various functions of the body, their development and their functioning. 16 February 1972 * * * Sweet Mother, Could you write something on discipline for ...
... Pondieherry). Page 132 which prepares the individual for the manifestation of the supramental truth. One can say, for example, that few austerities are so severe as those which physical culture demands for the perfection of the body. But of that we shall speak in due time. Before I begin describing the four kinds of austerity required, I must clear up one question which is a... energy required for growth and progress, and shut out most strictly all that produces exhausting fatigue and leads in the end to degeneration and decomposition of the material elements. Physical culture which aims at building a body capable of serving as a fit instrument for the higher consciousness Page 135 demands very austere habits; a great regularity in sleep, food, physical ...
... advice is that medicine should not be taken unless it is absolutely impossible to do otherwise; and this "absolutely impossible" must be absolutely strict. Although there are, in this programme of physical culture, certain well-known general lines as to how best to develop the human body, still if the method is to be fully effective, each case should be considered individually, if possible with the help... there is the possibility of establishing harmony among the different parts of the body and the different movements when the body is in action. The human body that undergoes a rational method of physical culture from the beginning of its existence can realise its own harmony and thus be fit to express beauty. When we shall speak of the other :. aspects of an integral education, we shall see what are the ...
... people did not talk about all that. Here, I did not want this subject to be discussed. That is Why we do physical culture. In that way the energies are used to develop strength, beauty, skill and all that; and one is more capable of control. You will see, the ones who do a lot of physical culture, they are much more capable of mastering their impulses. 1 (After meditation) The ...
... transformation, the fourfold austerity which prepares the individual for the manifestation of the supramental truth. One can say, for example, that few austerities are so severe as those which physical culture demands 'or the perfection of the body. But of that we shall speak in due time. Before I begin describing the four kinds of austerity required, I must clear up one question which is a source... the energy required for growth and progress, and shut out most strictly all that produces exhausting fatigue and leads in the end to degeneration and decomposition of the material elements. Physical culture which aims at building a body capable of serving as a fit instrument for the higher consciousness demands very austere habits: a great regularity in sleep, food, physical exercises and in all ...
... ancient Greeks were awake to this ideal not only for the female form but the male also. Some glimpses of it seem to reappear today, though spoilt by commercialism in the beauty contests and physical culture displays held periodically in many countries of the world. 5. Self-mastery and discipline, courage and confidence : To control one's impulses, reactions, weaknesses is a very important... especially developed by team games. The English people, who originated or codified most of these games, have been as a nation immensely benefited by them. Moreover, as we have already seen, physical culture has also favourable results on the vital and mental parts of the being. Unfortunately, there has been recently a tendency to use games and sports as a means of political propaganda .Though the ...
... then. But still a deep thought or awareness of some secret existence enveloped me all the time. And because of this I became a somewhat lonely child. Then I grew up a little more. Through physical culture I developed my body. But then I thought to myself that this body was not going to last forever. According to Nature's law the body would decay with time and then die. That old dream of childhood... of fourteen I had resolved that my life was not for me. But I did not understand then who or what it was for. It was then that I entered Biren-da's exercise-club to learn boxing and take up physical culture. Biren-da used to lay great stress on character-development. Exercise and boxing instilled courage and self-confidence in me. And there began my search for the true path. When my family's ...
... is that medicine should not be taken unless it is absolutely impossible to do otherwise; and this "absolutely impossible" must be absolutely strict. Although there are, in this programme of physical culture, certain well-known general lines as to how best to develop the human body, still if the method is to be fully effective, each case should be considered individually, if possible, with the help... there is the possibility of establishing harmony among the different parts of the body and the different movements when the body is in action. All human body that undergoes a rational method of physical culture from the beginning of its existence can realise its own harmony and thus be fit to express beauty. When we shall speak of the other aspects of an integral education, we shall see what are the ...
... we can bring about by the means at our disposal, must be the ultimate aim of physical culture,’ wrote Sri Aurobindo in the articles published in the Bulletin of Physical Education. ‘Perfection is the true aim of all culture, the spiritual and psychic, the mental, the vital, and it must be the aim of our physical culture also. If our seeking is for a total perfection of the being, the physical part... undergoes a transformation, unless its action and functioning attain to a supreme capacity and the perfection which is possible to it or which can be made possible.’ 15 As the Mother said: ‘Physical culture means putting consciousness into the cells of the body. One may or may not know that, but it is a fact. When we concentrate to make our muscles move according to our will, when we attempt to make ...
... people did not talk about all that. Here, I did not want this subject to be discussed. That is why we do physical culture. In that way the energies are used to develop strength, beauty, skill and all that; and one is more capable of control. You will see, the ones who do a lot of physical culture, they are much more capable of mastering their impulses. 10 Page 377 ( After meditation... should be given according to capacity and the children should be grouped according to these capacities. It is a matter of experience and observation. Page 380 To be a good teacher of physical culture one must know anatomy, the various functions of the body, their development and their functioning. 16 February 1972 Sweet Mother, Could you write something on discipline for us? ...
... to be Thy divine instruments upon earth." It is almost a proclamation. After the demonstration they are going to say it. It appears they are going to show the whole historical growth of physical culture and then at the end they will say: we have not come to the end, we are at the beginning of something and here is our prayer. I was very glad. You say there is a progress? Page 91 ... they asked for a prayer of the body . They have come to understand that the body must begin to transform itself into something else. Before this, they were quite full of the whole history of physical culture in all the countries, and the country where it is most advanced and how to use the body as it is, etc. Well, it was the ideal of the Olympics. Now they have jumped beyond; that was the past, now... × Every year on this date, the children of the School and the Ashram sadhaks who take part in sports give a general demonstration of physical culture. × During the spring of 1962. ...
... Finally, special studies should be made for physical culture and its values. This study should include the concept of health, strength, agility, grace and beauty. One could also introduce here the concept of ideal sportsman and sportswoman, and one could explain the specific contribution that can be made for the promotion of values of physical culture through gymnastics, athletics, aquatics, martial... one can introduce the question of definition of values and distinction between moral and spiritual values, as also values related to aesthetic and emotional life and values of intellectual and physical culture. Ideals of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity could also be studied at this stage. The study of values in relation to the psychology of development of human personality could also be important ...
... strength, endurance and skill, exactly like a material instrument, as if they were bits of dead matter. In whatever activity you wish to specialise, – for specialisation seems to be the aim of physical culture today, – you have to prepare yourself for it; the preparation itself becomes the main objective, the end in view is relegated to the second position. You take part in a 100 metres race, Page... advancing age. It is difficult ordinarily to escape from the influence of this double pressure. But to get rid of this influence and pressure is after all the very aim of our endeavour here. Physical culture has its side of expenditure or utilisation of energy when you execute a particular movement and follow it to the end. But there is, in addition and precisely because of this, another side to it;... no doubt, already familiar, or they have to get familiar, with the truth that relaxation is not merely an end-product of exercise, it has a place in. exercise itself. Let me explain. In all physical-culture activities and in every exercise, one has to pay particular attention to one thing, for success depends on it to a large extent. Normally, we are inclined to work up all our muscles and nerves ...
... the body, as great a perfection as we can bring about by the means at our disposal, must be the '' ultimate aim of physical culture. Perfection is the true aim of all culture, the spiritual and psychic, the mental, the vital and it must be the aim of our physical culture also. If our seeking is for a total perfection of the being, the physical part of it cannot be left aside; for the body is... the mind, the life, the character which it houses as, no less than an awakening and development of the body's own. native capacities, a desirable outcome of the exercises and practices of the physical culture to which we have commenced to give in this Ashram a special attention and Page 125 scope. A development of the physical consciousness must always be a considerable part of our aim ...
... solo performances, but combined movements of many persons in perfect balance, a unified cadence and orchestral pattern. Fifthly, and the point deserves particular mention, in the sphere of physical culture (as in other spheres too) the Russians make no difference between men and women. They believe that men and women can and ought to do the same exercises together, that it is pure superstition... due to compulsion, it is not a healthy or a natural condition of our being. It is indeed painful, and what men really wish for is to come out of it —into a world of natural freedom. The new physical culture that the Russians are now following is meant to open up the hidden resources of the body. This they are doing with the help of knowledge, practice and endless, eager experiment. Rooted in the... enough for the soul afterwards. First this world, then the rest." "Why not a little division of labour?" I told the group. "You keep to your social reform or revolution, if you please. Your physical culture and your secular pursuits. Spare us from these. Why not leave us to go ahead with another kind of aim and work? After all, we do not mind your doing what you like to do. It is only fair that ...
... India from the British. Anu said Sri Aurobindo selected her father and her uncle (his brother) and they were both quite willing to work in this capacity. While Purani was in college he started physical culture centers all over Gujarat for sports, bodywork, playing sticks, climbing wooden poles and wrestling. At that time there were many young men from Afghanistan who knew wrestling well and her father... child did not want to study he or she was free to be ignorant. It did not mean that they had no other faculties or capacities. So some learned electricity and became engineers. Some went into physical culture and other areas of study. Not everybody liked the Free Progress method. At present Sri Aurobindo is taught in the Higher Course at “Knowledge” and Free Progress is a choice, it is not imposed ...
... grow tall. And I am not speaking of those who have practised physical culture, for that's different; with physical training one can considerably change one's body; I am just speaking of an aspiration, an inner will. The body is sufficiently plastic till twenty-five. Later one must introduce more scientific methods, like physical culture; and if that is done wisely and methodically, one can obtain wonderful ...
... recuperate; but what a child cannot do one day, he can do the next. So if you never go beyond the limit you have reached, you will never progress. It is quite obvious that people who practise physical culture, for example, if they make progress, it is just because they gradually exceed, go beyond what they could do. It is all a matter of balance. And the period of receptivity should be in proportion... that fear of doing more than they are able, of overdoing things, they will never progress. Only, at the same time one must do what is necessary for recuperating. That is the whole principle of physical culture. And one sees things which for an ignorant and untrained man are absolutely miraculous, performed by bodies which have been methodically trained. What should be done to remember the Mother ...
... 17 April 1957 " Perfection is the true aim of all culture, the spiritual and psychic, the mental, the vital and it must be the aim of our physical culture also. If our seeking is for a total perfection of the being, the physical part of it cannot be left aside; for the body is the material basis, the body is the instrument which we have to use ... Aurobindo says, before this can be done, it is good to utilise all that we have in order to increase and make more exact the control of physical activities. It is very obvious that those who practise physical culture scientifically and with coordination acquire a control over their bodies that's unimaginable for ordinary people. When the Russian gymnasts came here, we saw with what ease they did exercises ...
... Ashram Department of Physical Education On Education General Messages and Letters Become Master of your body—this will lead you to Freedom. Physical culture is the best way of developing the consciousness of the body, and the more the body is conscious, the more it is capable of receiving the divine forces that are at work to transform it and give... practising them will draw full benefit from the point of view of physical health and moral and spiritual uplift. Bulletin, April 1959 I simply want to be beautiful. Do sincerely some physical culture and you will succeed. 1965 It does not seem to me quite wise to take children below six years to sea bathing; the sea water is too strong for them. 8 February 1966 Page 285 ...
... transformation, the fourfold austerity which prepares the individual for the manifestation of the supramental truth. For example, one can say that few austerities are as strict as those which physical culture demands for the perfection of the body. But we shall return to this point in due time. Page 48 Before starting to describe the four kinds of austerity required, it is necessary to... necessary, the expenditure of energy that fosters growth and progress, while categorically excluding everything that causes exhaustion and leads in the end to physical decline and disintegration. A physical culture which aims at building a body capable of serving as a fit instrument for a higher consciousness demands very austere habits: a great regularity in sleep, food, exercise and every activity. By ...
... perfected, and it must become a superhuman body capable of expressing a being higher than man. And this certainly cannot happen if Page 336 we neglect it. It is by an enlightened physical culture and by using physical activities―the activities of the body―not for little personal needs and satisfactions, but to make the body more capable of expressing a higher beauty and consciousness.... expression. We will do that. We see each other once a week. We will do it little by little. ( To B ) You will have to tell them, but I have just said it. They can be told, you can tell them: physical culture has an important place in preparing the body for its new functions. There! ( Mother laughs. ) ( There follows a quarter of an hour's meditation. Then Mother takes back the notebook in which ...
... passports 45, 193 pavilions 17,92 peace 77, 93 peacock 12 philanthropy 85 physical culture and sports 117-9, 133 police 132 politics 32, 36-7, 42-3, 86-7 the Pope 40 a port 18,23 ... 219 sincerity 31, 56, 111, 191, 243-4, 251 the spirit of Auroville 52 spirituality 196-200, 219 sports see physical culture Sri Aurobindo 47, 51-2, 60-1, 93, 97, 102, 117, 119 134, 141, 183, 251 superman, supramental see consciousness ...
... understand that others are a mirror reflecting the image of what you are. 24 June 1964 Sweet Mother, Just as there are tangible and concrete bodily exercises and disciplines for physical culture, is there not something tangible and concrete for the progress of the soul and the consciousness? Since the most ancient times, each system of yoga has developed its own discipline in all... perishes." Thoughts and Aphorisms , in SABCL, Vol. 17, p. 89 . × The annual demonstration of physical culture, held at the Ashram Sportsground. × "The Titans are stronger than the gods because they have ...
... is that medicine should not be taken unless it is absolutely impossible to do otherwise; and this "absolutely impossible" must be absolutely strict. Although there are, in this programme of physical culture, certain well-known general lines as to how best to develop the human body, still if the method is to be fully effective, each case should be considered individually, if possible with the help... there is the possibility of establishing harmony among the different parts of the body and the different movements when (he body is in action. The human body that undergoes a rational method of physical culture from the beginning of its existence can realize its own harmony and thus be fit to express beauty. When we shall speak of the other aspects of an. integral education, we shall see what are ...
... perfection of the body, as great a perfection as we can bring about by the means at our disposal, must be the ultimate aim of physical culture. Perfection is the true aim of all culture, the spiritual and psychic, the mental, the vital and it must be the aim of our physical culture also. If our seeking is for a total perfection of the being, the physical part of it cannot be left aside; for the body ...
... obey its governance. The emphasis on the development of strength, suppleness, calm, quiet, poise, grace and beauty in physical education, whether done by Yogic Asanas or by other methods of physical culture, such as games and sports, or Japanese Judo and similar exercises, will ensure the contact of the body with the psychic centre and the body will learn to put forth at every minute the effort that... intellectual, moral and spiritual development of character and personality. It has been found necessary by recent research in yogic education that students should develop a high sense of physical culture and a bodily need of daily physical exercise. Our programmes in schools and colleges should be so organised that everyday a student is able to devote at least one hour for physical education, ...
... culture to which he is a natural heir. This would mean that all teachers, whether their specialisation is in the field of mathematics or language, in science or literature, in home-science or physical culture, should have the necessary equipment which would enable them to transmit Indianness to the children and students who would be placed under their care. This does not mean that every teacher should... one of the festivals of India (b) Festivals of India and national integration (c) Festivals and daily life in India 7. Indian Sports and Games: „ (a) Place of physical culture (b) An in-depth study of Yogic Asanas and their relationship with physical health and higher fulfillment (c) An in-depth study of one of the indigenous games and sports of India ...
... cracked too and then you could hear three-four types of sounds. So I stopped singing. When I formed the Physical Culture Club and laid stress on developing the body I stopped singing altogether. I was quite fanatical and believed that if music was not given up entirely then physical culture would not be possible. Then when I came to the Ashram I started composing songs though not in a regular ...
... Jagatbandhu Institution. The sports teacher there was the famous boxer and athlete of the time Sri Jagatkant Sheel. His club was situated on Wellington Square and was called S.O.P.C (School of Physical Culture). In order to promote boxing he had formed the B.A.B.F. (Bengal Amateur Boxing Federation) and initiated the All Bengal School Championship, the All Bengal College Championship and the Bengal... you want to really learn it well, then join my club." His club was on Kakulia road behind his house on a piece of land that belonged to his family. The club was called Ballygunj School of Physical Culture (B.S.O.P.C). And so I joined this club and under Biren-da's guidance started learning boxing. Some time later, there was a South Calcutta School Championship. I entered my name. I won my bouts ...
... situation in independent India asked for the promotion of a like harmonious growth of faculties in the citizens and future citizens. The institution of the Olympiad helped the nations to key their physical culture Page 466 to the highest levels of expectancy. Physical education would mean health, strength and fitness of the body, but even more to the point would be the growth of discipline... Mother alike, physical education was not an end in itself, but a possible means preparing the beneficiary for the ardours and adventures and realisations of Integral Yoga. The importance of physical culture in the total scheme of self-perfection being thus established, the sadhaks - excepting for the few who kept aloof for personal reasons - felt attracted and joined the Playground activities. It ...
... It is a contact with the energy, the universal energy which is there, it is to help the body to participate in the work. At that moment it is something very physical. This is truly the basis of physical culture: to prepare the body for the action and the receptivity of energies to accomplish the work. And also the Marching, even when I am not there. But the March Past is for stimulating the receptivity ...
... follow a suitable method to train and educate your body, you will have an infinitely greater output than you have now. It is quite recently that men have begun to speak of Page 55 physical culture as an important thing; if you go back a hundred years, it was the privilege of those who had nothing else to do. A hundred years ago it was a luxury. When someone said, "I do not want to send ...
... very complex, its processes innumerable, complicated, uncertain, often contradictory, always progressive and almost absolutely relative! Still, very precise results have been achieved; ever since physical culture has become a serious preoccupation, a certain number of experiments, studies, observations have accumulated, which enable us to regulate diet, activities, exercise, the whole outer organisation ...
... useful: the fact that it cannot be done really well unless the body is in the habit of obeying the reason rather than the vital impulse. For instance, the whole development of bodily perfection, of physical culture with dumb-bells and the exercises which have nothing particularly exciting and demand a discipline, habits which must be regular, reasonable, which give no scope to passion, desire, impulse—one ...
... Power in the body, but it is a very clumsy and very incomplete expression. It is beyond question that a physical body which has been trained according to the most complete and rational methods of physical culture is capable of things it could never do otherwise. I think no one can deny that. Well, for the mind it is the same thing. You have a mental instrument with many possibilities, faculties, but they ...
... yearly schedule is divided into four seasons: during the first three, there is a period of training followed by competitions; at the end of the year, participants prepare an annual demonstration of physical culture which is presented on December 2nd at the Ashram sportsground. Facilities of the department include a library, gymnasium, playground, sportsground, swimming pool, judo hall and tennis courts. ...
... the dominant note of the Pabna Conference, by signs and omens of many kinds which those who keep their eyes open will easily understand. We have now Samitis for spreading Swadeshi, Samitis for physical culture and self-defence, Samitis for the organization of meetings, festivals and other great occasions. All these are good, but we want now Samitis for giving help and light to the masses. The Anushilan ...
... the complete and ideal Person within us and the shaping of human life in that image. But if that is the truth, then neither the Hellenic ideal of an all-round philosophic, aesthetic, moral and physical culture governed by the enlightened reason of man and led by the wisest minds of a free society, nor the modern ideal of an efficient culture and successful economic civilisation governed by the collective ...
... innocent object and had nothing in it which anyone could look upon with suspicion. In fact we never thought that we should be looked upon with suspicion. It is the Europeans who have trumpeted physical culture as a most valuable national asset, the thing in which the English-speaking nations have pre-eminently excelled and which was the cause of their success and energy. That was the second seed of ...
... contain the intense energy generated through tapas). Health, hygiene, Page 401 exercise, stamina, agility, food, sleep and rest - all these and more form part of an integral physical culture. Keeping these features in mind let us review two educational experiments, aiming at an integral way of self-perfection: the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Pondicherry ...
... doctors of all categories are the priests who officiate in the different rituals of the worship. Thus, medicine is truly a priesthood and should be treated as such. The same thing may be said of physical culture and of all the sciences dealing with the body and its working. And if the material universe is regarded as the external robe and manifestation of the Supreme, then it can be said, generally, that ...
... cumbrous and complex as civilisation develops. Depressing by its mental and vital overgrowth the natural vigour of the physical and animal man, it tries to set the balance right by systems of physical culture, a cumbrous science of habits and remedies intended to cure the ills it has created and as much amelioration as it can manage of the artificial forms of living that are necessary to its social ...
... spirituality is all-embracing and is deeply committed to undertake all activities of human life and to transform them. It has begun to influence literature and art and music, education and physical culture. Even social and economic and political fields are being taken up, not indeed to cast them once again into some rigid formula of a religious dogma but rather to liberate them and to inundate ...
... relevant programmes of education. And, overarching these efforts, there should be launched for the youth in the rural areas a massive programme of education that would centre on activities of physical culture, general knowledge and basic skills. This programme should be promoted and monitored by a staff exclusively charged with it. Considering that mediocrity of linguistic competence obstructs ...
... or the umpire, acceptance of success and failure with the grace and equanimity, and virtues of hardihood, endurance and, perseverance can best be developed through well-planned programmes of physical culture. A nation where young men and women possess robust capacities of the physique, coupled with mental ethical and aesthetic values can and will assuredly rise higher and higher in providing leadership ...
... in love and responds with ecstasy. And in this way everything seems to grow, to spring up, to open to an extraordinary phenomenon. How astonishing it is, the way these people who are engaged in physical culture, who work with the body, the athletes, have been able to catch hold of this thread, this vibration which comes from matter to express this consciousness, this New Force, in their effort towards ...
... the purpose of intellectual culture is the growth and individualisation of the mind, the purpose of moral culture is the growth and individualisation of the vital being and the true purpose of physical culture too should be a well-balanced and well-developed physical body, not only in a general sense, but in a very individualised mode. But all these varieties and modes of culture can be truly individualised ...
... deserves nothing short of the term genius. In this field, too, a Bengali was able to show his unique superiority. His strength was not merely physical strength. It was not the result of any physical culture. For there was a peculiar magic, almost a mantric power in his physical strength and capabilities. He could curb and control wild lions and tigers in the twinkling of an eye, not solely by physical ...
... Achitophel: A fiery soul, which working out its way, Fretted the pigmy body to decay: And o'er informed the tenement of clay. 27 The average Indian scholar didn't care for physical culture, he had no joy in the art of robust and healthy living; on the contrary, becoming a spectacled book-worm Page 54 at a tender age, he was given to excessive intellectual inbreeding ...
... to accept Cripps' offer. 1943 Dec 2 Opens a small school with about 20 children of devotees. Takes some classes. 1945 May Opens the School's physical education department (P.E.D.). 'Physical culture is the process of infusing consciousness into the cells of the body.' Page 857 1946 Descent of the Divine Mother's Personality of Ananda, indispensable for the transformation of ...
... s is gone - now to action." ... Yes, it is on the way. 23 A week later, on being asked for a prayer for 2 December (to be recited by a chorus at the end of the annual demonstration of physical culture), the Mother wrote: The prayer of the cells of the body Now that, by the effect of the Grace, we are slowly emerging out of inconscience and waking to a conscious life, an ardent prayer ...
... the number of visitors on Darshan occasions doubled and trebled and quadrupled itself. Other developments during this period B1cluded the setting up of an up-to-date printing press, extension of physical culture activities, stating o f agricultural and dairy farms. All these happened despite various acute hardships due to the war. 1942 March 31 : British Government's ...
... closed for India in bitter disillusion indeed. VI Throughout 1946, the Ashram preserved a calm exterior, and the communal and spiritual life of the sadhaks as also the education and physical culture of the pupils in the School were sustained at a high level of harmony and efficiency. Page 447 But the Ashram, although it was a world apparently separate and secluded, could not ...
... delight to the competitors. Set in very picturesque surroundings, with the coconut and the other palm trees for an attractive back-drop, the Sports Ground was an invitation to the adventure of physical culture and the attainment of the body, strong and beautiful. On 1 May 1951, the Mother opened the Sports Ground by cutting the ribbon across the winning posts, and inaugurated the annual athletic co ...
... calm the effervescence of desires and the preoccupations which accompany them". If the austerity of sleep is important, the austerity of the day is no less so, whether in the matter of physical culture, or in the commitment to work. Anything done in excess is a defeat, and in work the main flaw arises from egotistic attachment: For one who wants to grow in self-perfection, there are ...
... dispassionate courage, and directed the powers of his soul or the supreme Force of the Spirit to effect its radical conversion and transfiguration. Even Plato who gave so great an importance to physical culture, speaks with an undisguised disparagement of the body which, in his view, is "the source of endless trouble to us by reason of the mere requirement of food, and is liable also to diseases which ...
... candidate for Divinity. And the first step towards this realisation is to become master of this body instead of remaining an impotent slave. One most effective help towards this goal is physical culture. For about a century there has been a renewal of a knowledge greatly favoured in ancient times, partially forgotten since then. Now it is reawakening, and with the progress of modern science ...
... FOR THE SUN Each year for the birthday of Pranab Da, Director of the Ashram Physical Education Department, we the captains and group members secretly prepared an informal demonstration of physical culture which would be put up before the Mother on the 18th of October every year. The Mother took a keen interest in this particular programme. In 1958, we had very early monsoon rains which poured ...
... Bhattacharya, who became his companion and assistant in the following years. The two spread their militant ideas especially among college students and the youth who belonged to the akharas or physical culture clubs in which wrestling, jiujitsu and lathi-fightin were taught. In October 1904 Barin returned to Baroda for a year long stay with hi brother. During this period, probably inspired by Bankim ...
... should always be conscious” and refused to remove it. It is still there. × Biren Chunder (1915-97), a master in physical culture and physiotherapy, settled here in 1945. He met Mother daily as manager of New Bindery. The messages that she wrote in his diary from 1 April to 31 December 1954 were published as Mantras of ...
... as civilisation develops. Depressing by its mental and vital overgrowth the natural vigour Page 222 of the physical and animal man, it tries to set the balance right by systems of physical culture, a cumbrous science of habits and remedies intended to cure the ills it has created and as much amelioration as it can manage of the artificial forms of living that are necessary to its social ...
... arsenal of tonics. My advice is that medicines should not be used unless it is absolutely impossible to avoid them; and this "absolutely impossible" should be very strict. In this programme of physical culture, although there are well-known general lines to be followed for the best development of the human body, still, if the method is to be fully effective in each case, it should be considered individually ...
... Sri Aurobindo Ashram Department of Physical Education On Education Messages for the Annual Demonstration of Physical Culture Demonstration 1960 Bravo! To all those who participated in yesterday's performance! 1 It was excellent. My congratulations to everybody. Everything was well planned and well executed. With love and blessings to all. ...
... exercises of mental silence in concentration. 1 June 1966 Page 398 × The annual demonstration of physical culture. × More Answers from the Mother, Cent. Vol. 17, p. 99 . ...
... appeared in the Bulletin between 1949 and 1950. The middle two subsections comprise written and tape-recorded messages to the participants in the competitions and the annual demonstrations of physical culture organised by the Department of Physical Education. The next subsection contains general Page 515 messages, and letters to individuals. The final subsection, "To Women about Their ...
... according to the most modern plans, meeting all the most up-to-date requirements of hygiene and public health. It will have not only residential houses, but also gardens and sportsgrounds for physical culture. Each family will be lodged in a separate house; bachelors will be grouped according to their occupations and affinities. Nothing necessary for life will be forgotten. Kitchens equipped in ...
... somewhat different, as children need special food for growing. 26 June 1967 Mother, Can you tell me why in Sri Aurobindo's Ashram, in your presence, everyone seems to think of food, physical culture and the doctor for keeping good health? The Divine help may take a fourth place if it likes. It is difficult, at present, for one to speak of your help. People seem to think that by speaking of ...
... temple, and doctors of all kinds are the officiating priests in the different rituals of worship. Thus, medicine is really a priesthood and should be treated as such. The same can be said of physical culture and of all the sciences that are concerned with the body and its workings. If the material universe is considered as the outer sheath and the manifestation of the Supreme, then it can generally ...
... students. The Gnostic Centre has recently established a pre-school based on these same ideas, called 'L'avenir (the future)' where work is going on based on integral education, with emphasis on physical culture, value education and mental training. Over the last five years through its various short courses on self-development and subject based intensives, The Gnostic Centre has built up a sound ...
... scholarly, could serve as stimulating and instructive material. In our times, with the re-establishment of the Olympiads as an inter national institution the ancient spirit of excellence in physical culture has been powerfully revived. This revival has been greatly aided by the contemporary science and technology, and we thus see a widespread participation in all parts of the world in the activities ...
... the purpose of intellectual culture is the growth and individualisation of the mind, the purpose of moral culture is the growth and individualisation of the vital being and the true purpose of physical culture too should be a well-balanced and well-developed physical body, not only in a general sense, but' in a very individualised mode. But all these varieties and modes of culture can be truly indi ...
... Aurobindo did not mind the tone of the letters addressed by his beloved disciple. He was compassion and love incarnate and explained patiently in letter after letter the genesis and the development of physical culture in the Ashram. He even wrote two long highly luminous articles on physical education and justified its appearance in his spiritual Ashram: These articles were published at that time in the Ashram ...
... renascent spirituality is all-embracing and is deeply committed to undertake all activities of human life and to transform them. It has begun to influence literature and art and music, education and physical culture. Even social and economic and political fields are being taken up, not indeed to cast them once again into some rigid formula of a religious dogma but rather to liberate them and to inundate them ...
... spirituality is all-embracing and is deeply committed to undertake all activities of human life and to transform them. It has begun to influence literature and art and music, education and physical culture. Even social and economic and political fields are being taken up, not indeed to cast them once again Page 61 into some rigid formula of a religious dogma but rather to liberate ...
... strength, endurance and skill, exactly like a material instrument, as if they were bits of dead matter. In whatever activity you wish to specialise, for specialisation seems to be the aim of physical culture today, you have to prepare yourself for it; the preparation itself becomes the main objective, the end in view is relegated to the second position. You take part in a 100 metre race, actually ...
... Purani-ji to the Ashram. He and his brother had plunged into national work from a very young age. He was in close contact with Aurobindo's revolutionary group. He was a pioneer in propagating physical culture and organising association Page 250 ...
... doing physical exercises there. From the courtyard we shifted the club to our garden. There we installed the wooden pieces for dunds* and also fixed parallel bars thus getting together a physical culture set-up of some sort. The club continued in this way for some time. One day we were told that a saw-mill would be set up in the garden and we had better shift our club. We started ...
... Nabagopal Mitra. The object of the Hindu Mela", 99 inaugurated by them was to encourage the use of indigenous products, and the revival of Indian industries and handicrafts, Indian methods of physical culture and the feeling of national self- respect and self-reliance. "It advocated the idea of pan-Indian nationality and urged the adoption of the cult of self-help as an instrument of national regeneration" ...
... few days of my arrival, I took up the responsibility of the Ashram’s physical education department, with the Mother’s blessings. From the very beginning Sudhir-da encouraged me in my work for physical culture. When the Group for elderly persons was started, he joined it. I used to conduct the gymnastic marching of this group of Grown-ups. Sudhir-da was very enthusiastic about this marching. He used ...
... Ashram singers. Seated by the side of the Mother, Nehru followed with sustained interest the programme which included recitations, Swedish rhythmic ball drill by the girls, gymnastic marching, physical culture display, the whole programme concluding with Jana gana mana. This was a time of animated relaxation for the Prime Minister, and what he saw may have roused in him great expectations of what ...
... feel an inexplicable sadness and emptiness. Outwardly he continued his triumphant career. He trained other athletes, organised teachers' training centres all over his country, and popularised physical culture among the masses. He won a world reputation, he was even called "superman"; but that was all the sheerest nonsense. Now when death stares him in the face, he has no illusions about his achievements ...
... minutes, and Dr. Reddy personally offered the gold medal and cheque to Sri Aurobindo. Later, Dr. Reddy went round the Ashram, and in the evening witnessed in the Playground a demonstration of physical culture by the boys and girls, and had a discussion with the Mother about the working of the Ashram. Recalling the impressions of his visit, Dr. Reddy wrote in the columns of Mother India: ... ...
... education, meaning that children usually spent ten to fifteen years continuously at the Centre of Education, a period long enough, one could say, for the accomplishment of the best results in physical culture, academic excellence, and psychic opening. The third feature was that the Centre of Education was both in the Ashram in a physical sense and it was of the Ashram too: The life of the children ...
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